Silence stretched between us as we stared at the fire, lost in thought. I couldn’t stop replaying the way the water felt when I fell from the rock; the panic that had enveloped me before I lost consciousness and everything went dark.
Another shiver coursed through me, this time not due to the chill.
Liam scooted closer, slipping an arm around me. “Is this okay?”
“Yes.” My throat was tight as I fought against the unshed tears threatening to spill. I wasn’t a crier, it made me feel out of control, but right now I was on the verge of losing it.
“Are you all right, Cerise?”
“Of course. I’m just tired.” I cleared my throat. “So what’s the plan?”
Liam tilted his head as if he didn’t believe my answer, but didn’t comment on it. “Aren’t you the planner? Why don’t you tell me?”
He was right. I was the planner. But now…now I felt completely helpless.
Clutching the blanket tighter, I shook my head and whispered, “I don’t know.”
My mother’s voice sounded in my head.You must always be prepared, Cerise. Expect the unexpected. Be professional at all times. You never know who’s watching.
A tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. I tried to wipe it away before Liam could see, but wasn’t quick enough.
“Hey.” He gently gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger, turning my face toward his. “It’s going to be all right. We’ll figure it out.” He tightened his grip around my shoulders. “We’re alive, Cerise. It could have been much worse.”
I nodded, sniffling. Another tear fell and Liam wiped it away with his thumb. “Mmm hmm.”
“Say it,” Liam said, his green eyes fierce.
“Say what?”
“We’re alive.”
I took a breath. “We’re alive.”
The soundof a bird call startled me awake, the subtle glow of the morning sun brightening the inside of our tent. We were fortunate Liam was a quick thinker and had managed to keep hold of his pack. We still had some food, a tent, and basic supplies. But the food wouldn’t last long. We’d have to use the jungle for our sustenance in a few days.
Liam and I had stayed by the fire, silent for most of the evening as we munched on dried beef and tried to find a silver lining to our predicament. But when I could hardlykeep my eyes open, Liam insisted we get some sleep and ordered me into the tent.
The steady way he took the lead eased something in me. I was too terrified to think our way out of this. Too traumatized by my near drowning to calm my thoughts. Liam had seemed to notice last night, bolstering me with promises of survival and insisting we would be found, forcing me to eat, to sleep.
Despite our dilemma, it warmed something in me.
A subtle pressure on my abdomen urged me to open my eyes. Glancing down, I found Liam’s arm draped across me. We were still in our underclothes and I tensed when I realized how close we were. As if we’d subconsciously drifted toward each other in the night. We certainly hadn’t gone to sleep like this.
But I didn’t want to scoot away. Not yet. I carefully rolled to my side, facing the sleeping professor, and studied his face. Strands of white hair sat unruly on his head. He was never able to tame it. Kind of like his personality. My eyes moved over his eyelashes. His strong jaw with a hint of stubble, darker than his hair, which added a bit of a rugged appeal. His broad shoulders peppered with freckles. His body that was somehow both lean and packed with muscle, rendering him long and strong and…beautiful.
He was beautiful.
And up until the flood, I’d been having fun with him. I couldn’t remember the last time I just…lived. Everything was always about control. Schedules. Accomplishments. Goals. I could hardly remember a time before that, it was so ingrained in me from my mother. Even as a child.
“Oh Cerise.Look at you. You got mud all over the house,” my mother said one afternoon. I’d been playing in the backyard, only eight years old. Fascinated by the earth worms living in the soil, Ihad used water to make a mud city, building them little houses, waterways and businesses, then decorated their town with sticks, leaves and flowers. Deciding I wanted to make a sign to place at the worm hospital, I’d run inside to retrieve a writing utensil.
“I’m sorry, mama. It was an accident. I just needed to get something for my worm hospital.”
“Worm hospital? What on earth are you doing? Did you already finish your lessons?” my mother chastised.
“Yes. I did them all.”
My mother had designed educational lessons for me to complete outside of my usual schooling, insisting the school didn’t teach me enough. That I needed to know more. But what I really wanted to do was play with the animals and learn how to heal them.
